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Reports & Surveys

Let’s Talk Climate: Messages to Motivate U.S. Latinos

Environmental health professionals are uniquely positioned in local communities to be the nexus of climate change leadership. NEHA encourages you to share and use this report to activate Latinos on solutions and amplify your voice on the important message of climate change that crosses national and cultural boundaries.

NEHA's Assessment of Foodborne Illness Outbreak Response

Introduction:

The National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) was asked by members of the Council to Improve Foodborne Outbreak Response (CIFOR) to conduct an assessment of the capacity of local and state agencies to undertake foodborne illness outbreak investigation and response. Of concern were the potential impacts of ongoing budget reductions on staffing, training, outbreak response, control, and prevention activities, as well as the current status of interagency cooperation to share resources.

NEHA conducted this project with support from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration/Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition/Office of Food Defense, Communication and Emergency Response (FDA/CFSAN/OFDCER) through a contract with the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL). The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of FDA or APHL.

NEHA and AFDO were asked to conduct an environmental health (EH) regulatory food safety program capacity assessment by CIFOR. CIFOR members are interested in knowing what impacts budget cuts may be having on the capacity of local and state regulatory food safety programs—and specifically on those programs that conduct environmental investigations during foodborne disease outbreaks. This assessment was intended for EH and regulatory food safety managers and directors who oversee regulatory food safety programs within local, tribal, and state departments that conduct environmental investigations during foodborne disease outbreaks. Because of the urgency to have basic information quickly, an initial assessment was created using Zoomerang. The assessment was both anecdotal and qualitative and addressed EH foodborne illness investigation capacity issues. NEHA, AFDO, and NACCHO disseminated the assessment to EH and food safety managers and directors. The assessment was launched March 24, 2011, and closed April 8, 2011.